That fog of fatigue you feel when you’re supposed to be alert during the day is the notorious jet lag after a long-haul flight. This disorienting state can turn the first days of a trip into a groggy blur, and for some people, it can take up to three weeks to fully recover from it.

I’ve been there more times than I’d like to admit. I’ve arrived in cities half-awake, barely functioning, while my body still thought it was the middle of the night. To help you deal with jet lag, or better yet nip it in the bud, I’ll walk you through what jet lag entails, when and why it hits so hard, and most importantly, how to get over it as quickly as possible.

With the following 8 practical tips, you’ll be able to shake off that post-flight daze and get your mind and body back in sync with your new time zone in no time. Without further ado, let’s dive in.

Common Symptoms of Jet Lag

Not all jet lag is created equal. Travelers often find jet lag hits hardest when flying eastward. You’re essentially “losing” hours and forcing your body to shorten its natural day, which is tougher than extending it.

So when you cross multiple time zones, typically more than three, in a short period of time, you’ll likely experience these symptoms below:

• insomnia at night
• daytime drowsiness
• Headaches
• brain fog
• Irritability
• even stomach troubles

The good news is that jet lag is usually short-lived. Your body will adapt, but until it does, you’ll experience a kind of temporal whiplash as your internal clock plays catch-up.

4 Tips to Prevent Jet Lag Before You Fly

Before your flight even takes off, you can do a lot to lessen the impact of jet lag. Small changes in your routine can help your body adapt faster once you land. Here are four practical ways to get ahead of jet lag before it hits.

1. Gradually Adjust Your Sleep Schedule Pre-Travel

One proven strategy is to shift your internal clock before you even get on the plane. Here’s what it entails:

• A few days ahead of your trip, start nudging your bedtime and wake-up time toward the schedule of your destination. For an eastward trip, go to bed and wake up 30–60 minutes earlier each day if possible. For a westward trip, do the opposite: stay up a bit later and get up later for a couple of days.
• Don’t forget to shift meal times too if you can. Eating meals closer to when you’ll eat abroad helps cue your body to the new schedule.
  

2. Stay Hydrated and Skip the Alcohol & Caffeine

Flying will dry you out, which can worsen fatigue and other jet lag symptoms. The airplane’s low-humidity environment can leave you up to 2% dehydrated by the time you land, and dehydration amplifies headaches, dizziness, and overall malaise.

• So, drink plenty of water before and during your flight.
• Equally important is what not to drink. Avoid alcohol and limit caffeine on the plane. It can be tempting to have a glass of wine to relax or a coffee to stay alert, but both alcohol and caffeine mess with your body in transit.

Pro Tip: If you’re guessing how coffee or wine affects your body, use a smart ring. It tracks how caffeine affect your sleep and recovery, so you can make smarter choices mid-flight and bounce back from jet lag quicker.

3. Keep Moving During Long Flights

Being sedentary on a long flight doesn’t just put your legs to sleep – it can make jet lag feel worse.

• To combat this, make an effort to move your body in flight. Walk up and down the aisle every couple of hours (when the seat-belt sign is off, of course). Do some simple stretches or exercises in your seat: ankle rolls, shoulder shrugs, neck stretches, even light isometric exercises like pressing your palms together.
• On extremely long flights like from Doha to Los Angeles (16h 25m), set a timer to get up and stretch. Yes, you might feel a bit silly doing calf raises near the emergency exit, but it’s worth it. Movement keeps your blood flowing and can reduce swelling, plus it helps break up the monotony of the flight.

4. Sleep (or At Least Rest) During the Flight

Getting some sleep while flying can seriously help your body adjust faster to the new time zone. This isn’t always easy – I know the struggle of contorting into an economy seat, surrounded by noise and turbulence. Still, come prepared to maximize any chance of shut-eye.

• Pack a comfy eye mask and earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones. Use a neck pillow or rolled-up sweater to support your head. Even if you can’t sleep deeply, try to rest during the hours that correspond to nighttime at your destination.

For example, if you’re on an overnight flight that lands in the morning local time, do your best to simulate a night’s sleep on the plane. That might mean forcing yourself to snooze right after the in-flight meal instead of watching three movies in a row.

Pro Tip: If you absolutely can’t sleep, at least close your eyes and relax – do some slow breathing, listen to calming music, and avoid the temptation of endless screen time.

4 Tips to Get Over Jet Lag After Arrival

If you couldn’t quite stick to the pre-flight strategies or they didn’t work out as planned, these four post-arrival tips will help you bounce back faster once you land.

1. Use a Health Tracker to Aid Your Recovery

In this day and age, you don’t have to tackle jet lag alone. Compact smart wearables like smart rings can act as personal coaches that support your recovery step by step. The Circular Ring 2 can help you combat that post-flight daze and grogginess so you can feel like yourself again.

To manage jet lag properly, you first need to understand how well you’re actually sleeping. The Circular Ring 2 digs into that in detail. It tracks your sleep cycles, detects disruptions, and gives feedback on how restorative your rest was.

It also uses a smart alarm to wake you at the right time, suggests breathing exercises to reset your rhythm, and even advises when to have caffeine so your energy levels recover naturally instead of crashing later.

By using these insights wisely, you can get your rhythm back on track and cut down that foggy recovery time to just a day or two instead of dragging it out for the whole trip.

2. Get Natural Sunlight at Your Destination

One of the most powerful jet lag remedies is daylight. Sunlight is the master regulator of our circadian rhythms. As soon as you arrive, try to get outdoors and expose yourself to natural light, especially during the local morning and midday. Bright light tells your body it’s time to be awake, which then resets that internal clock to the new cycle. Even if you feel like a zombie, a brisk walk in the sun can work wonders in signaling your system that “this is day, stay awake now.”

If weather or circumstances keep you indoors, use artificial light – a bright lamp or light therapy device in the morning can substitute for sunshine. The key is to make light work for you: flood yourself with it and minimize it at night. Aligning with the local light-dark cycle is arguably the fastest way to nudge your circadian rhythm back on track.

3. Align to the Local Schedule (Sleep and Meals)

Jet lag hates nothing more than you immediately adopting the local routine. As tough as it feels, start living on local time from the moment you land. That means if it’s daytime, resist the urge to crawl into bed straight away. If it’s nighttime, even if you’re not super tired yet, go through the motions of your normal evening and try to sleep.

If you arrive in the morning or afternoon, do not take a long nap even though your body might be screaming for it. A short power nap of 20–30 minutes early in the afternoon can be okay to take the edge off, but set an alarm so it doesn’t turn into a multi-hour snooze.

Once you're up and moving, eating at the right times is just as important. You should start following the local meal schedule as soon as possible. Even if you’re not very hungry at dinnertime because your body thinks it’s mid-afternoon, try a light dinner anyway. Conversely, if you wake up at 4 AM starving, resist raiding the minibar and wait until a normal breakfast hour. Synchronizing your eating times to the new time zone can gently coax your metabolism onto the local rhythm.

4. Use Strategic Naps and Melatonin Wisely

When used correctly, melatonin and power naps can be handy tools in your jet lag recovery kit. When used haphazardly, they might backfire – so deploy them strategically.

Let’s talk melatonin first. Melatonin is a hormone your body naturally produces at night to signal sleep, and it’s also available as an over-the-counter supplement. Many travelers swear by taking melatonin to fall asleep in a new time zone.

• The usual approach is to take a small dose (commonly 3–5 mg, though even 0.5 mg can be effective for some) about 30 minutes to an hour before your intended bedtime in the new location. This can help shift your body’s internal clock. Keep in mind, melatonin can make you groggy if taken at the wrong time, so timing is key.

Finally, use other sleep hygiene hacks to your advantage. At night, create a dark, cool, quiet environment to sleep. Every little bit helps in convincing your body that yes, it’s night-night now, please power down.

Conclusion

Jet lag throws your body out of sync, but it doesn’t need to derail your trip. Most people adjust within three to four days, and almost everyone feels normal again after a week. Shifting your sleep ahead of time, getting sunlight, staying active, using melatonin, and tracking your vitals can all speed things up. I’ve found that forcing myself to stay awake until local bedtime, walking outside in daylight, eating on the new schedule, and skipping naps on day one makes the biggest difference. Do that, and jet lag turns into something you manage—not something that takes over your trip.

FAQs:

How long does jet lag usually last?

Most people start to feel normal again within a few days. On average, your body adjusts by about one hour per day. So, if you cross six time zones, expect roughly six days to fully sync up. Flying west is usually easier since it extends your day, while eastward trips can take longer to recover from.

Does flying east feel worse than flying west?

Yes. Flying east means you’re “losing” hours. This forces your body to fall asleep earlier than it’s used to. That’s harder than staying awake longer, which is what happens when you fly west. Basically, it’s easier to stretch your day than to shrink it.

Can I completely avoid jet lag?

Not entirely, but you can definitely reduce it. Start adjusting your sleep schedule a few days before your flight, stay hydrated, and get daylight exposure once you land.